Barbour Back for More

Jamian Barbour may sound jaded, but he insists he is not. Just determined.

“I’ve got some bitter feelings,” Barbour said. “But all in all, I’m not a bitter guy. The bottom line is, I’m on a mission. I’m going to let my playing do my talking for me and everyone is going to see.”

Perhaps Barbour, who rushed for 2,196 yards and 20 touchdowns in two seasons as a tailback at Crespi High, can afford a bit of boasting. Anything to help boost his confidence.

Barbour will try to walk his talk this season at Valley College instead of at Colorado, where he walked on last fall and walked away after one season, frustrated and disillusioned.

On Friday, the first day of fall practice for area junior colleges, Barbour vowed to make the indelible impression on Division I recruiters he failed to make while at Crespi. He will compete for the starting job with former Kennedy High tailback Antwane Smith, who rushed for 100 yards in 21 carries last season and is the front-runner for the starting job.

Former Valley Coach Jim Fenwick, now at Cal State Northridge, recruited Barbour. After unsuccessful negotiations with a handful of Division I schools, Barbour opted for Colorado.

Coaches there, Barbour said, encouraged him to walk on and repeatedly praised his performance on the practice field but ultimately were unwilling to provide him a scholarship.

“I don’t want to say too many bad things, but they didn’t seem to care what was going to happen to me,” Barbour said. “I went to Colorado and just fell in love with it. I would still love to be there because my heart is still there. But I wouldn’t advise walking on there.”

Barbour, who added about 20 pounds to his 5-foot-11, 175-pound frame during the past year, says the next time he leaves home he’ll have signed a letter of intent.

“He had a box full of letters and I made a tape of all his games and sent them to schools,” said Scott Barbour, Jamian’s father. “But there really wasn’t a recruiting process. He was really disappointed.”

Interest from UCLA, Illinois, Idaho and Arkansas did nothing more than leave Barbour feeling empty.

“Idaho came to my school just to tell me they couldn’t offer me a scholarship,” Barbour said. “That just broke my heart. Arkansas was just blowing smoke my way.

“I’m a hard-working guy. There is no reason why I shouldn’t be in D-I [Division I] in the first place. If you look at my style of play, it’s not like I’m some kind of slow oaf.”

At Crespi, Barbour, a slashing runner with deceptive speed and impressive cutback ability, was an all-Del Rey League selection and a bright spot on a mediocre team. As a senior in 1995, he rushed for 1,199 yards and 14 touchdowns for the 5-5 Celts.

A year earlier, Barbour rushed for 997 yards, including a 121-yard performance against Bishop Amat, which spent much of the season ranked No. 1 in the nation.

In the third quarter, Barbour broke loose for a 42-yard touchdown run, outdistancing Daylon McCutcheon, now a junior defensive back for USC. Crespi finished 5-6 that season.

Since he first buckled a chinstrap, Barbour has never played for a winning team. That likely will change. Valley, a perennial area power, is coming off three consecutive 10-1 seasons.

“I’m anxious to see him in pads,” said Gary Barlow, who replaced Jim Fenwick this season as coach. “He’s definitely very skilled and he’s really quick. I’m happy he’s here.”

Barbour feels likewise. Finally.

“He has been really receptive,” Barbour said of Barlow. “I talked to him three times before I decided to come here and play. He seemed to care about his players. I should have done this from the get-go.”